This past week a group of MUSC students, myself included, traveled to Chicago, IL to represent our school at ASDA’s annual National Leadership Conference. We left Charleston at 6am with a forecast of clear sky’s and 80 degrees temperature only to be welcomed in the windy city with what us southerners would call a blizzard. Snow falling and winds so strong we couldn’t life our faces up. Our first day in the city was spent beating the cold, pretending to be a local at Billy Goat’s Tavern, and shopping magnificent mile for last minute Halloween costume accessories.
The conference started bright and early on Friday morning. I am confident that every attendee of NLC would agree that the conference started off with such a bang. Ben Nemtin was the first key note speaker of the weekend and spoke about the 5 steps to Making the Impossible Possible. Ben shared his story from being a college drop out to finding purpose in his life through a bucket list compiled along side 3 of his friends. Some of the seemingly impossible bucket list items included, drinking a beer with Prince Harry, playing basketball with Obama, and hosting the 6 o’clock news, all of which they accomplished. For each bucket list item Ben and his friends checked off they vowed to complete a bucket list item for a stranger. As you could imagine, the bucket list items they completed for strangers were as rewarding for Ben and his friends as they were the individuals who received their help. If you want to feel inspired, I highly recommended that you check Ben Nemtin’s story out and keep an eye out for his upcoming movie. We saw the unreleased trailer and I promise you it will not disappoint!
Throughout the weekend we broke off into small groups to attend break out sessions. These session included a variety of topics including treating trauma patients, the connection between medicine and oral health, how to navigate dental insurance, and digital dentistry. Some of the big take a ways from the sessions we attended were:
Dental photography – setting for using a DSLR camera
Ethics in Dental School and Professional of like – If the treatment or technique meets the standard of care, accept it. If not, advocate for its removal.
What I wish I learned in dental school – You are not supposed to know everything. CE is everywhere, utilize it!